Press Release

GuideTech Extends Life of Existing ATE Systems

Timing Measurement Leader Offers Capabilities to Top Semiconductor Customers Demanding
Increasing Test Accuracy and Throughput

SEMICON WEST, San Jose, Calif. – July 14, 2004 – GuideTech, leading innovator of high throughput timing and jitter analyzers, today announced new options for semiconductor customers to extend the life of their existing automated test equipment (ATE) systems with GuideTech’s Femto 2000™ precision timing analyzer and the AMX 270 Active MUX. In response to growing high-speed test challenges and manufacturing cost pressures, today’s top semiconductor organizations require more accuracy, flexibility, throughput, and value from their existing equipment. The Femto 2000 provides the ability to dramatically reduce test time and improve the quality of jitter and critical timing tests by production ATE systems for both synchronous and asynchronous devices.

Applying the unique capabilities of its core Continuous Time Interval Analyzer (CTIA) technology, the Femto 2000 delivers asynchronous pattern verification and one-shot, direct timing measurement capabilities that are not available on most digital ATE systems. In addition to overcoming high-speed analog test challenges, the Femto 2000 also achieves higher timing accuracy with as much as eight times throughput improvement over alternative solutions. As more low end consumer ICs incorporate fast serial interfaces, PLLs and Spread Spectrum Clocks, manufacturers of these complex yet cost-sensitive devices turn to GuideTech for economical turnkey solutions and professional technical support services, with cooperation from GuideTech's partner ATE companies across the world.

"The enhanced capabilities, accuracy and throughput offered by GuideTech’s Femto 2000 help customers to assure device quality at a reasonable cost and minimize returns . This increases customer satisfaction and ultimately increases overall profitability ," said Eric Nagel, GuideTech’s vice president of sales. "Particularly for those testing very low ASP microcontroller and consumer devices incorporating high-speed PLLs, spread spectrum clocks and analog signals that are very difficult to test on most older digital ATE systems.”

The Femto 2000 is currently available and has quickly been adopted by nearly every major assembly, test, and packaging (TAP) company worldwide . Requiring only hours to integrate onto an ATE system, such as the Agilent 93000, GuideTech’s precision test products help customers gain more value from their existing commercial or custom in-house ATE capital investments. Target applications include DDR and clock delay line timing, spread spectrum clock modulation, disk drive PRML, and source synchronous LVDS and graphics DVI. The optional AMX 270 increases the number of channels up to 32 and provides flexible programming of both single-ended and differential signal measurements.
 

About GuideTech
GuideTech is the leading innovator in high-performance timing measurement instrumentation, providing semiconductor manufacturers with the solutions they need to minimize timing-related component failure, along with dramatically reducing production test costs through test-time reduction and extended ATE lifecycles. Based on patented Continuous Time Interval Analyzer (CTIA) technology, the company’s family of multi-channel timing test systems accomplishes this by substantially improving test throughput via fast measurement rates, far greater accuracy, increased parallelism, and through critical, high-speed timing test coverage often lacking in ATE systems. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, and founded in 1988, the company is the first to deliver cost-effective, advanced timing measurement solutions that easily integrate onto any ATE platform. For more information, please contact Tammy McClure at 408-731-8857 or tammy@guidetech.com. Visit the company’s Web site at http://www.guidetech.com

Media Contact:
John C. Tran
Media Relations for GuideTech
510-226-6780, x154
john_tran@e21corp.com